Looking for "an escape from L.A. filter."

December 16, 2006 6:33 PM

Is there one database or GIS I can use to research several important features, to cull the possible cities I might want to move to?

I may have the opportunity to escape from Los Angeles. It no longer resembles the great place where I grew up. The population has become too dense in every sense of the word. I will have the proceeds from the sale of my business and my home to fund the escape. I am trying to narrow down potential places. My criteria, so far, is that I want to be within 45 miles of an airport, population of >150,000, has a university nearby, and in a climate where I can grow Bougainvillea. How can I use the magic interwebs to combine all these variables without having to treat each element as a separate search?

posted by SMELLSLIKEFUN to Technology (6 answers total)

Austin seems to meet all your criteria.

And it's full of ex-Angelenos who couldn't hack it here anymore. I think it's right up your alley.
posted by drjimmy11 at 6:43 PM on December 16, 2006

Try findyourspot.com
posted by loiseau at 6:45 PM on December 16, 2006

I don't know of a single search site that incorporates the ability to search on all four of your criteria. Perhaps AskMefi can act as your search engine. Here is my contribution (two cities that meet all four criteria):

Irvine, CA - (Airport: John Wayne Airport, Pop: 199,755, University: UCI, Bougainvillea: plant in June).

Tempe, AZ - (Airport: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Pop: 161,143, University: ASU, Bougainvillea: #3 of 7 recommended plants).
posted by RichardP at 8:45 PM on December 16, 2006

Response by poster: I am not looking for specific recommendations. I am looking for technology. The data I mentioned were examples, and I expect that they may change, or more may be added later. Especially if my wife gets some input.

Loiseau- findyourspot.com is a fun site.
posted by SMELLSLIKEFUN at 9:32 PM on December 16, 2006

i've enjoyed, though not used to escape to/from somewhere sperling's best places
posted by philomathoholic at 1:30 AM on December 17, 2006

I'd probably approach this with ArcGIS and data I find wherever--USDA climate zones (you'd need a Zone 7 or higher to grow bougies), US Census data, and shapefiles with major airfields you could buffer. For me, I'd also require proximity to other sorts of terrain, etc, and could narrow down my potentials pretty easily.

Once you have the data, representing it all graphically is a snap.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 8:00 AM on December 17, 2006